Jep and Jessica Robertson said they did a lot of praying before they made the decision to move their family from their roots in Louisiana for a new life in North Texas.
“It was a lot of prayer, a lot to talking to our friends, but, you know, we love it out here,” Jep Robertson told Fox News Digital.
The couple will share their journey on their new Great American Media series “Jep & Jess: Beyond the Bayou,” which will stream exclusively on Great American Pure Flix every Thursday starting Aug. 13. It will also be available on Great American Family and GFAM+ starting Saturday, Aug. 15 at 9 p.m.
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“And actually, in this part of Texas where the ranch is, when I was a kid, I used to come out here with my dad from about 12 years old to about 16, 17,” Jep explained. “Actually, my first kind of decent buck was killed in Texas not far from this ranch we’re filming the show on, and so I love this area of Texas.”
He said it felt like “God is just like ‘All right, guys, you know, you should try this,’ and we’re like, ‘OK, we’ll try.'”
The show follows the couple as they leave “behind the Louisiana bayous that first made them household names,” to build a “new life in Texas, transforming Comanche Moon Ranch into a thriving community rooted in craftsmanship, hospitality, and legacy,” according to the description of the show on Great American Family’s website. “Along the way, viewers will witness the joys and challenges of creating a place where neighbors become family, love grows deeper, and every project serves a greater purpose.”
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Jep noted that it has been a few years since they had been on TV, “So our family has definitely gotten a lot bigger.”
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“Beyond the Bayou” will also give fans a more “in-depth” look at them, Jep said, adding that it will be “faith-forward.”
The first episodes, he said, show them talking to their Bible study group about “coming out here and kind of doing this whole project, and which was really cool because what most people don’t know is like we didn’t tell them. We were just meeting with our Bible group, and then, you know, we talked about kind of what was going on, so it’s very authentic, which I thought was really cool.”
Jep and Jess, who are now grandparents, have been married for nearly 25 years. And while they have a strong marriage, they admit it wasn’t always easy.
“I always say, the first seven, eight years were really tough being married,” Jep admitted. “I was just like, man, I can’t do this.
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The couple, however, had “so many amazing people in our lives,” he said, adding that his oldest brother Alan and his wife really helped them navigate their early years as a couple.
“And so, I think it’s a testament to God and the people he’s put in our life, you know, just not giving up,” he confessed. “When people ask me about marriage advice — it’ll be 25 years in October — and I’m like, ‘Man, I would just say, don’t give up.’ I mean, that’s the main thing is don’t give up.”
It took them years, he said, but eventually they got on the “same team.”
“It’s OK if you make a mistake. It’s like, ‘Oh, I screwed up here, and you just forget and move on,” he said. But it takes time and wisdom to learn these things.”
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Jess added that “so many people say the first year of marriage is hard, but I always say the first seven because we were super young.”
The pair met in February, started dating in June and were married by October, “so, we really got to know each other once we were married. And I say the only reason why we’re still married is because we love the Lord more than we love, you know, each other. And I think when you’re always pointing to him, all the things, all the hurts, all the disappointments, any little, you know comparing you to him, my father and you to my mom, all those things, it makes it OK because you’re not looking for that anymore.”
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She added, “And I think once, like he said, we got on the same team, we knew each other, we were on the team, I know he loves the Lord, I know he has a good heart, and so all the little things that happen, I can let it go, right?”
And as they build the ranch, where the public can visit, Jess said she thinks people are looking for a simpler, more community-oriented life.
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“I’ve noticed like more girls, younger girls wanting to sew and learn to sew and being very creative, learning how to, you know, raise chickens and can tomatoes and make jams,” she said, adding that it was encouraging to her to see younger women wanting to learn skills that meant a lot to her growing up that she learned from her grandparents.
“So, I think that that’s definitely what people want,” she continued. “And even if you don’t have that,” “Beyond the Bayou” is “a show they can watch, and it’s actually some place you can actually come and experience. You don’t have to actually own it, and you know live this daily. You can actually get away and have this reconnect with your family, with your friend group, family reunions.”
